The dog named Houdini (with pics!)
 

A friend of mine just got back from Kenya, and brought a dog with her.

http://img263.imageshack.us/img263/5...ary1057ej8.jpg

The dog's a total stray/mutt/dingo, originally from the streets of Nairobi, and incredibly sweet. From the family she lived with in Nairobi, she's completely house-broken, really nice towards people and dogs, and very well behaved.

The only problem is, Houdini has a problem with confinement & abandonment. She chews through leashes if you leave her tied outside a restaurant. She's climbed 6' fences to escape back yards. She's jumped down from 2nd-floor balconies. Houdini was left in her travel-crate while my friend went out for an hour, and Houdini gnawed through the rugged plastic wall, widening the 2" window to a 6" window, and pushed herself through. Note that every time she does get out, she shreds wooden doors/walls searching for her lost owner. Not cool.

Yesterday, Houdini was left in her (new) crate for twenty minutes and did the damage below.

http://img263.imageshack.us/img263/9...ary1055wz9.jpg

http://img263.imageshack.us/img263/5...ary1056mb6.jpg

I have no question that in a couple hours, she'd be out of that (second) crate. The problem isn't only that she's shredding stuff when she gets out; she's also really hurting herself in the process. That sharp metal is digging into her face, and in the picture at the top, you can see scars on her nose where she's pushed through windows in the past. (Seriously. The dog put her head through a glass window.)

So, how do I help this dog recognize that she hit the doggy jackpot, and chill out? We got her a muzzle, but in the half hour she was alone today, she pulled off the muzzle, ripped off the loose bar picture above, and loosed three more, doubling the damage pictured above. This dog is about to get crate number three.

Do we just get stronger and stronger muzzles/crates? Do we put socks on her feet so she can't scratch at the muzzle? At some point, I feel like we're putting her in a doggy straight-jacket. [img]/images/graemlins/frown.gif[/img] Does anybody have any experience with those "doggy pheromones", that help dogs chill out in high stress? They've always seemed really hippy to me, but this dog is wrecking her one chance to escape the mean streets of Nairobi.

Thanks.
-Sam

http://img204.imageshack.us/img204/3...ary1059el8.jpg

Re: The dog named Houdini (with pics!)
 

Separation anxiety. Get a second dog.

Re: The dog named Houdini (with pics!)
 

you can just bring dogs back from africa?

Re: The dog named Houdini (with pics!)
 

[ QUOTE ]
you can just bring dogs back from africa?

[/ QUOTE ]
Yeah, apparently. Maybe she paid some sort of dog-tax, but dogs don't get quarantined when they're traveling between countries that have rabies; just when coming from countries that have rabies (US, Kenya) and going to countries that have eradicated rabies. (Britain, Australia)

I think the airline just treated her like furry checked baggage.

Re: The dog named Houdini (with pics!)
 

dog's a total [censored] badass

Re: The dog named Houdini (with pics!)
 

Houdini is a great name for this dog. I have no idea what you could do though. Sounds like an expensive, aggravating toy.

How does the dog react when a person is around?

Re: The dog named Houdini (with pics!)
 

[ QUOTE ]
How does the dog react when a person is around?

[/ QUOTE ]
Of course she adores her owner, but even when I was dogsitting, after some longing-stares at the door, she attached to me and followed me around the house, loving any attention I could give her. Even after I put the muzzle on her (for practice, not in the crate), she wagged her tail and was psyched to hang-out with me.

She really didn't want to go in the crate, but seemed happier when I was in sight. Of course, as soon as I left she started building an improvised explosive device out of alpo and rawhide.

Re: The dog named Houdini (with pics!)
 

http://www.landroller.com/myimages/C...whisper-lr.jpg

Re: The dog named Houdini (with pics!)
 

Watch Animal Planet's series "It's me or the Dog", the "Lucy" episode. They fix a dog with severe separation anxiety, and a couple of other problems, in 30 minutes.

http://animal.discovery.com/tv-sched...121638.33808.8

Re: The dog named Houdini (with pics!)
 

Theory: Houdini wasn't the one trying to break out of the cage, it was Konrad searching for his cape.
http://img256.imageshack.us/img256/1741/konrad2os0.jpg